Toronto to add a 2,800-seat concert hall

Toronto welcomes an addition to its thriving cultural life come September, when a new concert hall wth the latest in acoustical design will open.

Designed by Arthur Erickson, the $39 million (Canadian) Roy Thomsom Hall will be the home of both the Toronto Symphony and the Mendelssohn Choir. Twelve thousand square feet of adjustable acoustical banners have been built into the auditorium to control reverberation and echo and to isolate exterior noise from the auditorium. Special facilities for the handicapped have been installed.

In the past, Massey Hall, a late-19th-century building, was acknowledged to have serious inadequacies that affected both performers and the public. One problem is the obstructed views in seats behind columns. City noise penetrates the building.